The 'First Past the Post' Elections System Doesn't Work for Canada

Our political system has many flaws that are all but impossible to fix because nobody can gather a majority of support. Every voter has a different idea about what needs to be fixed first, and how. Add to that the fact that the political system is very complicated and most Canadians either don't understand it, or are too jaded to even care to think about it. We all flock to watch hockey and The Voice every night, leaving our destinies in the hands of the people we despise the most: sneaky, corrupt politicians.

Here's a simple and clear example showing the complexities of our political system. Canada has inherited from U.K. the "first past the post" system which is the least representative and arguably most unjust elections system that exists today. Based on this system, we currently have a majority Conservative government despite that the Conservative party has received less than 25 per cent of the Canadian vote (5.8 million out of 24.5 million voters) or 39 per cent excluding those who did not care to vote at all. At the same time, the Green Party has been represented by a decent 4% of the votes, and yet they were barely able to get a single seat in Parliament after decades of struggle. Most Canadians agree that a Proportional Representation system would be fairer and would help our Parliament serve us better. Even many politicians support it, in theory. Most notably, our current prime minister has spoken in favour of Proportional Representation while he was in opposition. How come he never mentioned it after taking office? And how come the Liberal Party now talks about it, but never mentioned it while they were in power for more than a decade?

The answer is simple: Proportional Representation reflects the actual popular vote by taking away seats from the top 2-3 parties and distributing it to the smaller parties and independent candidates. No party leader in their right state of mind would propose legislation that would diminish the power of his/her own party. And since the governing party and top opposition party are always in a position to lose seats, there is no scenario where our Parliament will ever pass such legislation. Our politicians are shamelessly transparent in this regard: they support Proportional Representation when the math is in their favour, only to abandon the idea when it is no longer self-serving.

If we switched to Proportional Representation today, the Conservative Party would lose 40 of its 160 seats. NDP would lose 30. The Liberal Party would gain 25 seats -- and we can be sure that is why they started talking about it recently. But more importantly, the Green Party would go up from 1 to 12 seats, PQ would gain 14 seats and we would see 3 independent MPs in Parliament.

Given the clear and simple math, Canadians can give up hope that they would be better represented in Parliament because the politicians have other interests. But, the beauty of a democratic system is that at least in theory we can make a change and take steps towards making Proportional Representation a reality in our Parliament. 'Action for Proportional Representation' (APR, www.simplychange.ca), a non-partisan initiative that has a clear plan on how Canadians can replace the "first past the post" system with Proportional Representation. The plan is to enlist 338 Canadians who sign a legal pledge that if they are elected they will pass a draft legislation that does exactly that -- changing the elections system -- and then resign, calling for new elections immediately. Then we would have new elections and elect a new Parliament that would much better serve our interests as Canadians -- because it is fair to expect that a more representative Parliament would pass better legislation. There is hope that someday we will have an accountable and transparent government.

At first this plan may sound like a gimmick. It seems too simple. But that is what makes it more likely to work if a vast majority of voters understand it and support it. The big parties will certainly try to discredit it so they can preserve their grip on power, but the Social Media power can overcome that.

Action for Proportional Representation (APR) is ready to enlist Candidates and supporters. As a Canadian voter, you have a chance to help make this change happen. All you need to do is to support APR on Social Media (mainly through Facebook) check the news the week prior to the elections day. If APR has enough support, just vote for your local APR Candidate. If not, it means that Canadians don't really want to have a more representative political system, because there's no alternate path. There are a handful of advocacy groups collecting pledges from politicians, but haven't we had enough broken promises? It's time to make this change without 'help' from politicians.

If you read this and choose not to support the Action for Proportional Representation, you lose your right to complain that your MP does not represent you. This is your chance. Better yet, if we prove that the voters can make things happen, it will send a strong signal to politicians; either listen to us or we'll override you.

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Memorable Stephen Harper Pictures

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Stephen Harper and wife Laureen in 2011.
Source: Flickr

Part of a painting of Prime Minister Stephen Harper fully nude, by Kingston artist Maggie Sutherland, is shown at the Central Kingston public library in Kingston, Ont. on May 18, 2012.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper gets behind the bar at the Victoria pub in Montreal Friday, March 16, 2012 where he stopped in to meet some supporters and have a drink for St. Patricks Day.

Conservative leader Stephen Harper and Laureen Harper stand next to a tray of hot cross buns at a bakery in Mississauga, on April 23, 2011.

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, far left, watches a third round match between Agnieszka Radwanska, of Poland, and Serbia's Jelena Jankovic with his children Rachel, center, and Benjamin, right, at the 2012 US Open tennis tournament, Saturday, Sept. 1, 2012, in New York.

Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, speaks with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper during Canada Day celebrations on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on July 1, 2011.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his son Ben watch a bloopers show while attending the Calgary Flames NHL hockey game against the Edmonton Oilers in Calgary, Saturday, April 11, 2009.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper practices a few chords after arriving at home from work. February 19, 2011.
Source: Pm.gc.ca

Conservative leader Stephen Harper gets a hug from his mother Margaret during a visit to his campaign office in Calgary, Saturday May 29, 2004.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper holds up a moustache scarf to kick off the start of ‘Movember’, November 1, 2012
Source: Flickr

Senior Legislative Assistant, Katherine Locke, left, and Government House Leader Special Assistant, Zoe Lawson, show off their House of Commons gingerbread house to Prime Minister Stephen Harper in his office on Dec. 16, 2010. The gingerbread house was filled with rows of gummi bears as members of Parliament.
Source: Pm.gc.ca

Prime Minister Stephen Harper waves to tourists as he walks on the beach after the closing of the VI Summit of the Americas on April 15, 2012 in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper plays a game of table tennis with Team Canada's Mo Zhang at Canada House in London on Tuesday, June 5, 2012.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper tries on an old hockey helmet at he tours the Yukon's Hockey History exhibit at the McBride Museum in Whitehorse, Yukon on Thursday, August 25, 2011.

Stephen Harper, his son Ben, and Wayne Gretzky watch the men's ice hockey team's gold medal game at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.
Source: Flickr

Stephen Harper and his son Ben hit balloons into the crowd after his speech at the party's three-day policy convention in Montreal on Friday March 18, 2005.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Jamie Robinson (guitar) play along with Blue Rodeo's front man Jim Cuddy, and recording artist Jimmy Rankin as they belt out a tune during a Juno Awards reception at 24, Sussex March 31, 2012.
Source: Pm.gc.ca

Prime Minister Stephen Harper, looks up from dishing out pancakes at Stampede breakfast in Calgary, Alta., Sunday, July 10, 2011.

Clowns ham it up with Prime Minister Stephen Harper at the IAAF World Junior Championships in Moncton, New Brunswick. July 19, 2010.
Source: Pm.gc.ca

Prime Minister Stephen Harper, left, throws Senator Gerry St. Germain's cowboy hat into the crowd after presenting him with a new one as his wife Margaret St. Germain, right, laughs during a barbecue at St. Germain's ranch in Surrey, B.C., on Monday August 6, 2012.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper gives the thumbs up from the cockpit of his campaign plane as he arrives in Ottawa,Tuesday May 3, 2011.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper poses for a photograph with Halloween trick-or-treaters at his official residence in Ottawa, Wednesday, October 31, 2012.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper bundles up in a parka as he tours Frobisher Bay in Iqaluit, Nunavut on Thursday, February 23, 2012.

Canada's Prime Minister Stephen Harper adjusts his hat prior to the arrival of Britain's Prince William and his wife Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, for the official start of the Calgary Stampede parade in Calgary, Alberta, July 8, 2011.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his wife Laureen play with some furry friends at the official opening of the new Ottawa Humane Society facility on July 6, 2011.
Source: Pm.gc.ca

Met Batisse X, official mascot of the Royal 22nd Regiment, prior to welcoming French PM Jean-Marc Ayrault to Ottawa.
Source: Flickr

Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his wife Laureen, left, make cookies with 10-year-old brain cancer survivor Baxton Wacholtz, right, and his mom Michelle, of Telkwa, B.C., during a photo opportunity at Ronald McDonald House in Vancouver, B.C., on Tuesday August 7, 2012.